Page 60 - 2019 September 11th Bonhams Lewis Collection Japanese and Korean Art NYC

572 W
FUKAMI SUEHARU (1947-)
Kei (Landscape II)
Heisei era (1989-2019), 2000
Pressure-slip-cast porcelain with pale blue
glaze, on a granite base, incised underglaze
signature S. Fukami 6/8
65 1/4in (165.7cm) high (sculpture only),
71 1/4in (180.9cm) high overall
$50,000-70,000
Provenance
Purchased Japonesque, Inc., San Francisco,
March 5, 2003

This sculpture is number six from an edition
of eight.

Born into an artisan family that owned and
operated a factory producing porcelain
tablewares, from an early age Fukami
Sueharu learned the importance of pursuing
the highest standards in the selection
of his materials, the thoroughness of his
preparations, and the quality of his finished
work. In his late twenties he started to
specialize in his trademark combination of
porcelain with a luminous seihaku (bluish-
white) glaze inspired by wares made at the
Jingdezhen kiln complex in China’s Jiangxi
Province during the eleventh century, and
from 1980 he started to explore the potential
of high-pressure slip casting, which he
employs to create large-scale works such as
the present lot. By injecting liquid clay into
a plaster mold under high pressure, using
techniques whose details remain a closely
guarded secret, he minimizes the risk of
the finished work distorting during the firing
process. Now a ceramic superstar, Fukami
Sueharu is widely honored both in Japan and
throughout the world for his serene, crisply
modeled sculptures that are on view in major
public collections of Japanese art across
the United States and beyond. His mature
abstract style embodies a contemporary
global vision, yet also reflects a traditional
Japanese disregard for the time and effort
required to produce works of flawless beauty.

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